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December 15th, 2011

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have re-signed forward Steve Novak. Per club policy details of the contract were not released.

Novak, a 6-10 forward, was signed to two 10-day contracts last season before signing for the remainder of the season on March 4. In 23 games with the Spurs, he averaged 4.0 points and 1.0 rebound in 8.6 minutes while shooting .525 (31-59) from the field, .548 (23-42) from three-point range and 1.000 (8-8) from the free throw line. Novak posted a season-high 19 points (6-10 FG, 5-8 3FG, 2-2 FT) and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes vs. Charlotte on March 19. Prior to signing with the Spurs he appeared in two games with the Reno Bighorns in the NBA Development League, averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 29.5 minutes. Novak started the season with the Dallas Mavericks appearing in seven games, averaging 1.6 points in 2.6 minutes.

Novak has appeared in 225 regular season games with Houston, the L.A. Clippers, Dallas and San Antonio in his five-year NBA career, averaging 4.0 points and 1.1 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. For his career he is shooting .443 (320-723) from the field and .417 (214-513) from three-point range.

The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to terms with forward Craig Smith. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details here tonight.

Smith, 28, has averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in five seasons with Minnesota and the L.A. Clippers.

“Craig is a guy who will bring us some interior scoring and toughness around the hole,” said Trail Blazers Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “He is a player who is hungry to experience the playoffs and we hope that Craig can help us get back to the postseason again this year.”

A Los Angeles native, Smith (6-7, 265) spent the past two seasons with the Clippers, posting averages of 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 2010-11.

Originally selected by Minnesota with the 36th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft out of Boston College, Smith was a member of the 2006-07 NBA All-Rookie Second Team along with fellow Trail Blazer LaMarcus Aldridge.

Los Angeles D-Fenders Associate Head Coach Clay Moser has been hired by the Los Angeles Lakers to serve as an Advance Scout on Head Coach Mike Brown’s staff, it was announced today.

“We are extremely happy for Clay to receive such a tremendous opportunity with the Lakers,” D-Fenders Head Coach Eric Musselman said. “Clay is a great basketball mind and I am confident he will serve the Lakers well.”

Moser brings more than a decade of NBA and NBA Development League experience with him to the Lakers, most recently from the D-Fenders where he helped coach the team to a 7-3 start. Formerly serving on USA Basketball’s board of directors, Moser has also spent extensive time evaluating NBA-caliber talent as an advance scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-10), Orlando Magic (2007-08), Sacramento Kings (2006-07) and Golden State Warriors (2002-03). His other NBA experience includes time as Vice President of Business Development for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets (2005-06), as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs 2005 Summer League Team and as a business consultant for the NBA (2005).

In 2010-11, Moser assisted on Musselman’s staff as Associate Head Coach with the Reno Bighorns, helping lead the team to a Western Conference best 34-16 record. Prior to his time with the Bighorns, Moser was tabbed by the Houston Rockets to be Head Coach of their D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, going 21-29 with the Vipers during the 2008-09 campaign. In addition to his Reno and Rio Grande Valley D-League experience, Moser has also worked for CBA teams that later would join the D-League; serving as an assistant coach, vice president and general manager with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (1989-94) and as CEO and general manager of the Idaho Stampede (1997-2001).

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has agreed in principle to a deal with free-agent forward/guard Josh Howard, pending the outcome of a successful physical. It is a one-year deal.

A 2007 All-Star, Howard holds career averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 453 games (381 starts) over eight professional seasons in Dallas and Washington, including career highs of 19.9 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists during the 2007-08 season. Howard initially joined the Wizards via trade from Dallas on February 13, 2010, and appeared in four games (three starts) for Washington in 2009-10. In his first three contests as a Wizard, he averaged 17.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game before a knee injury on February 22, 2010 vs. Chicago caused him to miss the final 28 games of the season. In 2010-11, he appeared in 18 games (10 starts) for Washington, averaging 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Howard was originally acquired by the Mavericks in the first round (29th pick) of the 2003 Draft, and later appeared in 62 career playoff games (57 starts) for Dallas, with averages of 15.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in postseason play. Howard averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds in 23 playoff games (all starts) for the Mavericks during their run to the 2006 NBA Finals. He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2004. Howard was teammates with current Jazz guard Devin Harris in Dallas from 2004-08.

A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Howard played four seasons at Wake Forest. As a senior, he was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press and was a unanimous selection as Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year after averaging 19.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 blocks. Howard was also the top vote-getter for the ACC All-Defensive Team as a senior.

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Shawne Williams, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. The contract is for two years and $6.1 million, reported the New York Post.

“Shawne is a versatile player who will add a needed dimension to our frontcourt,” said King. “He can play inside as well as shoot the three, and is a welcome addition to our roster.”

Williams, a 6-9 forward, comes to the Nets following a one-year stint with the New York Knicks where he played in 64 games and posted career-best averages of 7.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.7 minutes per game, while shooting .401 from three point range. The University of Memphis product was chosen by Indiana in the first round (17th overall) in the 2006 NBA Draft.

Williams played two seasons in Indiana before being traded to Dallas prior to the 2008-09 season.

In January of 2010, Williams was acquired by New Jersey in a multi-player trade with Dallas, although he did not appear in any games with the Nets. Over his four-year NBA career, Williams holds career averages of 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds over 190 games. He appeared in four postseason games with New York last season, averaging 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting .429 from three point range.

The Denver Nuggets have signed NBA veteran forward Michael Ruffin, bringing their training-camp roster to 16.

Ruffin, 6-8, 248, has averaged 1.7 points and 3.9 rebounds with six teams in nine NBA seasons. He most recently played for the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2008-09 season.

Ruffin, a graduate of Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colo., spent part of last season coaching the Colorado Kings of the American Basketball Association before playing for Obradoiro CAB in Spain.

Sacramento Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof are growing increasingly optimistic that the city will approve an acceptable financing plan for a new arena by the March 1 deadline to keep the franchise from relocating.

Gavin Maloof said Thursday that the team is pleased with the progress of the city’s latest arena project and is “encouraged that something can be done” in time. Joe Maloof said the brothers are “optimistic guys” and would love for the franchise to remain in Sacramento.

“We’ve thought highly of Jamal for a long time and think he’s a great fit for our team,” said Trail Blazers Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “He brings a scorer’s touch and veteran leadership that will help us immediately.”

Winner of the 2009-10 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award with Atlanta, Crawford (6-5, 200) played the last two seasons for the Hawks and placed second in the NBA in bench scoring (14.2 ppg) last season. With 1,307 career 3-pointers, Crawford ranks 13th among active NBA players and his 33 career four-point plays is an NBA record.

He has scored 50-plus points three times, including a career-high 52 on Jan. 26, 2007, with New York.

A Seattle native who played collegiately at the University of Michigan, Crawford was the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft.

The Portland Trail Blazers have requested waivers on guard Brandon Roy and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, the team announced today.

“Brandon’s announcement that he is leaving the game ultimately shifted our decision to amnesty,” said Trail Blazers Acting General Manager Chad Buchanan. “We’re given the immediate option to obtain additional salary cap flexibility as we will no longer be in the Luxury Tax - something that is critical to improving our team and helping us recover from the loss of a player of Brandon’s caliber.”

Roy, 27, played five NBA seasons for the Trail Blazers, cementing himself as one of the greatest players to ever suit up in Portland with career averages of 19.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.03 steals and 35.6 minutes in 321 career games (295 starts).

“When faced with this decision, it made the most sense for us to amnesty his contract,” said Trail Blazers President Larry Miller. “We have a solid core group of players that we want to continue to build around. We owe it to our fans to put the best possible product on the court and this puts us in a better position to do that sooner rather than later. We once again want to thank Brandon for his many contributions as a Trail Blazer and wish him the best in his life after basketball.”

Roy led the Trail Blazers in scoring in three consecutive seasons from 2007-10. He became the first Trail Blazer since 1991-92 to rank among the NBA’s top 10 scorers when his 22.6 points per game ranked 10th in the league in 2008-09.

In just five seasons with the Trail Blazers, Roy ranks 15th on the team’s all-time scoring list with 6,107 career points. On Jan. 10, 2010, Roy became the third-fastest Trail Blazer to record 5,000 career points (247 games). He also ranks 12th among Portland’s all-time leaders in career assists (1,494) and 10th in 3-point field goals (322).

In 15 career playoff appearances (seven starts), Roy averaged 16.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 30.6 minutes. In his first career postseason, he averaged 26.7 points in six games in 2009. His 42 points in Game 2 vs. Houston were the most by a player in his first or second career playoff game in NBA history.

A three-time NBA All-Star (2008-10), Roy earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2008-09, becoming the first Trail Blazer to garner All-NBA honors since Clyde Drexler did so in 1991-92. He was a five-time winner of the Western Conference’s Player of the Week award, joining Drexler as the only players in franchise history to win the award five times.

Acquired by Portland in a draft-day trade with Minnesota, Roy was the sixth overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft out of the University of Washington.

Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed guard Reggie Williams. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. We’ll post contract details here later today.

The 6-6 Williams signed with the Warriors in March 2010 and spent the remainder of the 2009-10 season and all of 2010-11 with the team. In 104 total games, he has career averages of 10.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists, while shooting .477 from the field (408-855) and .405 from beyond the three-point line (135-333). In 80 games played last season, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists, and ranked ninth in the NBA with a three-point field goal percentage of .423 (102-241).

Williams will have surgery in the coming days to repair a tear of the lateral meniscus in his left knee. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately 6-8 weeks.

Williams, who led all NCAA Division I players in scoring in both his junior and senior years at Virginia Military Institute, was not selected in the 2008 NBA Draft and spent the 2008-09 season playing in France before joining the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League for the 2009-10 season. A 2010 D-League All-Star, he was leading the league in scoring at 26.4 points per game and was named Player of the Month in February before being called up to the Warriors.

The Orlando Magic have re-signed free agent forward Earl Clark, President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Otis Smith announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed. We’ll post details later today.

Clark (6’10”, 225, 1/17/88) played in 42 games last season with both Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.9 ppg. and 2.4 rpg. in 11.0 minpg. He was acquired by the Magic on December 18, 2010 from Phoenix, along with Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu, in a six-player trade. With Orlando, Clark appeared in 33 games, averaging 4.1 ppg. and 2.5 rpg. in 11.9 minpg. He scored in double figures five times (four times with Orlando), including a career-high-tying 14 points in a career-best 26 minutes on Feb. 11 vs. New Orleans.

“Earl (Clark) is a young, athletic forward who brings a lot of energy when he comes into the game, especially at the defensive end of the floor,” said Smith. “We are glad to have him back as a member of the Magic.”

Originally selected in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft by Phoenix, Clark has appeared in 93 career regular season games with Phoenix and Orlando, averaging 3.3 ppg. and 1.8 rpg. in 9.1 minpg. He also has played in four playoff contests, averaging 1.5 ppg. and 1.5 rpg. in 4.8 minpg.

Originally selected by the Washington Wizards in the second round (#47) of the 2007 NBA Draft out of Fresno State, McGuire owns career averages of 2.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 15.2 minutes in 252 regular-season games over four seasons with the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats. The San Diego, CA, native makes his return to the Bay Area, where he spent two seasons (2003-05) at the University of California, Berkley.

The New Jersey Nets have waived forward Travis Outlaw and designated him as the team’s amnesty player, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Outlaw, (6’9”, 207) played in all 82 games, 55 starts, with the Nets last season, averaging 9.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 29 minutes per game. The eight-year veteran was acquired by New Jersey as a free agent on July 14, 2010.

Outlaw has appeared in 482 career NBA regular season games with Portland, LA Clippers and New Jersey, averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game.

The Milwaukee Bucks have signed rookie forward Jon Leuer (6-10, 228) to a contract, General Manager John Hammond announced today. Leuer was the 40th overall selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Prior to signing with Milwaukee, Leuer appeared in 10 games for the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt team in the German Bundesliga where he averaged 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. He also played in three EuroCup games where he tallied 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Leuer played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin - Madison with career averages of 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 48.2 percent from the field. As a senior, Leuer had career-highs in points (18.3 ppg) and rebounds (7.2 rpg) while shooting 47.0 percent from the field. He finished his Badger career ranked 12th in school history in career points (1,376) and was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior.

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed rookie Malcolm Lee and free agent Bonzi Wells. We assume the Wells signing is just a training camp contract that doesn’t mean he’s making the regular season roster just yet.

Wells, a 6-5 guard-forward, is a 10-year NBA veteran (1998-2008) with career averages of 12.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg and 2.6 apg. He spent five-plus seasons with Portland, and also saw action with Memphis, Sacramento, Houston and New Orleans. His best season was 2001-02 when he averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 74 games for the Trail Blazers. His most recent NBA action was during the 2007-08 season when he played in 51 games for the Rockets and 22 games for the Hornets. He spent the 2008-09 season playing in China and the 2009-10 season in the Puerto Rican League.

Lee, a 6-5 guard from UCLA, was drafted 43rd overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls and acquired by the Wolves in a draft-day trade. He averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists over his three-year collegiate career. Lee earned both First Team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 All-Defensive Team honors in 2011 after averaging a career-best 13.1 points per game.

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have waived guard Andy Rautins.

Rautins was acquired on Dec. 10, 2011 from New York along with a protected 2012 second round draft pick from Washington. In exchange, New York received center Tyson Chandler, the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins and Giorgos Printezis from Dallas while Washington recieved forward Ronny Turiaf, a 2013 second round pick and cash considerations from New York and a 2012 second round pick from Dallas.

New York Knickerbockers Senior Vice President, Basketball Operations and Interim General Manager Glen Grunwald announced today that the team has signed center Jerome Jordan to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not disclosed. We’ll post deails this afternoon.

Jordan, 7-0, 240-pounds, had his draft rights acquired from Milwaukee in exchange for cash considerations on Jul. 8, 2010 after being selected by the Bucks in the second round (44th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft. He spent parts of each of the last two seasons playing overseas for KK Hemofarm in Serbia after four seasons at the University of Tulsa. He averaged 11.3 points, on .567 shooting from the field, 7.4 rebounds and 2.50 blocks in 133 games (119 starts) for the Golden Hurricane. He was selected to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team each of his last three seasons and earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors as a senior after averaging 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.34 blocks in 35 games (all starts). He is the only player in Conference USA history to record at least 800 rebounds and 300 blocks, and is the all-time Conference USA and Tulsa leader in blocked shots.

The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent forward Ime Udoka, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. According to the New York Post, it’s a non-guaranteed contract.

Udoka (6’6”/215), a seven-year veteran who has played for five teams, holds career averages of 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 316 games. The undrafted Portland State product began his career with the Lakers in 2003-04, appearing in four contests. He then appeared in eight games with the Knicks during the 2005-06 campaign. In 2006-07 he played in 75 games with the Trail Blazers. After a full season in Portland, Udoka signed with the Spurs where he spent two seasons, 2007-08 and 2008-09. For the 2009-10 campaign he signed with Sacramento and appeared in 69 games. Last season, Udoka played in 20 games with the Spurs, totaling 14 points and 19 rebounds in 130 minutes.

The Lakers were hit with a two-by-four of bad news Wednesday, Chris Paul heading to the Clippers and Dwight Howard heading nowhere.

The Lakers were privately fuming Wednesday, according to a person with knowledge of their front office, when Paul, the New Orleans point guard, ended up in Los Angeles six days after the NBA vetoed the Lakers’ trade for him.

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak declined to comment through a spokesman but earlier this week said the NBA’s blockade was “completely unexpected.”

“We did the best we can to express our displeasure,” Kupchak said Monday.